Statistics for International Business

Statistics for International Business

University of London

About this course: This course introduces core areas of statistics that will be useful in business and for several MBA modules. It covers a variety of ways to present data, probability, and statistical estimation. You can test your understanding as you progress, while more advanced content is available if you want to push yourself.
This course forms part of a specialisation from the University of London designed to help you develop and build the essential business, academic, and cultural skills necessary to succeed in international business, or in further study.
If completed successfully, your certificate from this specialisation can also be used as part of the application process for the University of London Global MBA programme, particularly for early career applicants. If you would like more information about the Global MBA, please visit www.londoninternational.ac.uk/mba
This course is endorsed by CMI

In our study of statistics, we learn many methods to help us summarize, analyze, and interpret data with the aim of making informed decisions in an uncertain environment. In this first week we introduce tables and graphs that help us get a handle of data. These tools provide visual support for better decision making. With this in mind, we will guide you through the concept of decisions based on incomplete information. Beginning from here, we will introduce you to the concept of population vs. sample, of parameter vs. statistic and of descriptive statistics vs. inferential statistics. We will then go through the concept of describing data, and we will introduce the idea of creating and interpreting graphs to describe categorical and continuous random variables.

This week we will describe and summarize the information in the data using numerical values or measures that are able to summarise information. This is a crucial extension to the analysis of the previous week. While graphs are informative it is usually crucial for improved understanding of the data at hand to discuss their numerical properties. In this week, we will look at a range of measures, such as measures of central tendency, the range, variance, standard deviation, and so on.

Probability theory is a young arrival in mathematics- and probability applied to practice is almost non-existent as a discipline. We should all understand probability, and this lecture will help you to do that. It’s important for you to understand first that the world in which your future occurs is not deterministic- and there are future outcomes where a probability model cannot be developed…
This week, we will cover the basic definition of probability, the rules of probability,random variables, -probability density functions, expectations of a random variable and Bivariate random variables.

For statistical analysis to work properly, it’s essential to have a proper sample, drawn from a population of items of interest that have measured characteristics. This week, we will cover statistical estimation, sampling distribution of the mean, point estimation, interval estimation, hypothesis testing, the Null hypothesis and look at some real life examples of their use.

Video: 4.1. Formulation of the Null Hypothesis and the Alternative Hypothesis

Video: 4.2. Test Statistic

Video: 4.2.1. The Decision Rule

Video: 4.2.2. Types of Errors

Video: 4.2.3. Performing the Test and the Decision Rule

Video: 4.2.3.1 Hypothesis Testing: Examples

Reading: Practice exercise

Reading: Solution to practice exercise

Video: 5. Regression Model

Reading: Practice exercise

Reading: Solutions to practice exercise

Video: Statistical Estimation - Summary

Video: 1. Further on the Linear Regression Model

Video: 2. Deriving the OLS b

Video: 3.The Statistical Properties of the OLS b

Video: 4. Gauss-Marcov Theorem Proof

Graded: End of Week

Graded: Summative Assignment

Graded: End of Course Quiz

FAQs

How It Works

Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from Your Peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material,
and get help mastering concepts.

Certificates

Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends,
colleagues, and employers.

Creators

University of London

The University of London is a federal University which includes 18 world leading Colleges. Our International Programmes were founded in 1858 and have enriched the lives of thousands of students, delivering high quality University of London degrees wherever our students are across the globe. Our alumni include 7 Nobel Prize winners. Today, we are a global leader in distance and flexible study, offering degree programmes to over 50,000 students in over 180 countries. To find out more about studying for one of our degrees where you are, search for 'London International'.